35 - Alkaline manganese primary batteries

Abstract

This chapter deals with the explanation of alkaline manganese primary batteries. They are ideally suited for use in many types of battery-operated equipment, for example heavy-duty lighting, transist or radios, electric shavers, electronic photo-flash, and movie cameras. The additional cost of the alkaline manganese construction, as opposed to the carbon-zinc type of battery, is usually not warranted for intermittent discharges, despite its improved performance. Only on continuous high rate discharges does the alkaline manganese system have an undoubted economic advantage. It is also recommended for low-temperature discharges. In radios, alkaline manganese batteries usually last twice as long as standard carbon-zinc batteries. In battery-powered toys, alkaline manganese batteries last up to seven times as long as standard carbon-zinc batteries. Alkaline manganese batteries are excellent for photo-flash applications. In addition to high amperage, they have more energy than standard carbon-zinc photo-flash batteries. The choice of battery type from the wide variety available for a particular application undergoes distinct changes as new types of battery are developed over the years.